You call the game, 8 or 9

pete lafond

pete lafond

pete.l@slipstic.com
Silver Member
Another thread talked about which game is easier, 8 or 9 ball. Instead, let me ask if you were to play a player much stronger than you but you both possessed the same relative strength in both games, what game would you select giving you the best chance to win? (A short race to 5 so that you have some advantage.)
 
I think most players have ran more racks of eight ball consecutively then they have 9-ball.
 
8 ball short race to 5. Make it also with alternate break, and then even the superior A class opponent might easily lose to a capable intermediate player.
 
I gotta go the other way and say nineball.........

In nineball if you make the game ball off the break you win, in eightball it's a re-rack or it's simply spotted. It doesn't happen often, but when it does, it's nice to benefit from it so........

Advantage nineball.

In nineball you can "push out" if you break, sink a ball and are somehow angled or can't get a line on the lowest numbered ball. In eightball I've been hooked right off the break by getting the cueball frozen against another ball, surrounded by the opposite lot I wish to play, or worse yet angled in the pocket. This usually spells trouble so........

Advantage nineball.

In nineball you can "combo" or "fluke" the game ball. In eightball you must contact the game ball first and pot it in your designated pocket so.......

Advantage nineball.

In nineball you don't have to call your shots, so if that bank shot into the bottom side turns into a bank into the top side, you still get to stay at the table. In eightball, you pot your ball in the wrong pocket, your turn is up......

Advantage nineball.

In nineball if your opponent scratches off the break, you get ball in hand from anywhere on the table. In eightball you have to play from behind the headstring and you must shoot up table..........

Advantage nineball.

In nineball you start with six less balls on the table. Less balls means less obstructions. Less obstructions means easier to roll around the table.......

Advantage nineball.

In nineball you benefit directly from your opponents miss if they leave a ball hanging in the pocket. In eightball, a ball blocking a pocket can spell trouble if you don't plan around them and can't play through them so........

Advantage nineball.

I've probably run more racks of eightball than nineball, but there are way more opportunities to steal a win out of a game of nineball early. In a race to five, there'll be mistakes, nineball lets you get away with a lot if lady luck favors your game. Just my humble opinion.
 
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In 8ball right after the break you have a shot much more often than you do in 9-ball. That is to say only if whoever broke the balls hit them hard.

In 8-ball you have more shot options, more safe options, and when your opponent doesn't have very many balls on the table and you have a few it is SO EASY to safe him and win. You can just clip your object ball near a rail softly and you have him in jail. If you have a shot but can't get position on the next ball, you can call 'safe' and pocket your ball and position the cueball for a safety on your opponent.

I think the only hard part about 8-ball is negotiating clusters and playing safe early in the game.
 
LastTwo said:
In 8ball right after the break you have a shot much more often than you do in 9-ball. That is to say only if whoever broke the balls hit them hard.
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Correct... but if you don't have a look at the on ball, you can throw down a mean push and you don't even need to hit a rail. Sometimes in eightball there is no good shot but a long one. For example, your opponent soft breaks and leaves the cueball behind the headstring at the corner rail. You've got a 9 feet to shoot and it's from the rail.

LastTwo said:
In 8-ball you have more shot options, more safe options, and when your opponent doesn't have very many balls on the table and you have a few it is SO EASY to safe him and win.
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More shot options I'd agree, more safe options is a matter of opinion. Since I know what ball my opponent must play next,I can leave him long or leave him hooked. I can also leave him a shot that makes it near impossible for him to get onto the next ball. In eight ball, I'd have to hide him from 2,3 sometimes 5 balls, but with nineball I only have to hide him from one. And when your opponent makes a kickshot and misses the on ball, it's BIH. In eightball all he has to do is hit anyone of the remaining balls and grab a rail.

LastTwo said:
You can just clip your object ball near a rail softly and you have him in jail. If you have a shot but can't get position on the next ball, you can call 'safe' and pocket your ball and position the cueball for a safety on your opponent.
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True, but again in eightball you have to hide them from all their balls. A pro nineball player can use a single ball to block the on ball.

LastTwo said:
I think the only hard part about 8-ball is negotiating clusters and playing safe early in the game.
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True, but my last point, (my only "real point"), was that you can steal a game of nineball by playing a combo one-ball into the nine. In eightball you have to make every ball that didn't drop on the break then sink the eightball clean.

It's just a matter of opinion anyway. :)
 
I would have to say 9 ball as it is easier to run out than 8 ball and there are less balls for to get stuck behind so if you have a strong break your laughing.
 
pete lafond said:
Another thread talked about which game is easier, 8 or 9 ball. Instead, let me ask if you were to play a player much stronger than you but you both possessed the same relative strength in both games, what game would you select giving you the best chance to win? (A short race to 5 so that you have some advantage.)
Click to expand...

I'd play 9-ball on a snooker table.

Fred
 
I am WAY in favor of 8-ball, the simple fact is the game is alot easier to run out on a good break for a average player and at the same time a great player with a bad break shot has a brutal time to get out and if you miss late the lesser player then gets to play clean up with most of the opponents balls removed. 8-ball is a game where the first person who goes offensive either runs out or looses, totally unlike 9-ball where you can play offense and do not commit yourself to finishing. I think ANY A level player would pick 8-ball if it were a match against a pro to have the best chance in a reasonable length race (9 games).
 
Give me 8 ball or give me death!!

I've played guys for $ on a bar table and it has taken hours and hours to get ahead playing 8-ball. Switch to 9 ball and it usually doesn't take that long to get the $.(Rolls not withstanding that is). Point is, in a short race I think 8 ball is way easier than 9 ball to compete with a pro player. If I was trying to match up with some champion, I am definately going to want just a little bit of weight in a short race of 8 ball. I would want something ridiculous playing 9 ball. JMO
 
Hard to say ...

Most money is won from 9 ball, but most of my
tournament wins is from 8 ball. I have always like
to think 9 ball is stronger, but I win more 8 ball
tournaments, or do better, than in 9 ball tournaments.

There could be a couple of reasons:
1) That 9 ball is easier, and therefore the competition
for it is stronger.
2) That 8 ball is more complex mentally, and my mental
attitude and logic and experience, I consider, to be a strength
for me. (i.e., ball patterns, breaking out balls, playing safeties, etc..)
 
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